West Richland Man Extradited From Kazakhstan, Sentenced on Child Porn Charges

BENTON COUNTY, Wash.--A West Richland man was sentenced to federal prison on child pornography charges Thursday. 50-year-old Trent Drexel Howard agreed to a 23 year prison sentence as part of a plea deal regarding one count of attempted production of child pornography. Between March 2008 and 2016, Howard knowingly attempted to use fourteen different children to take part in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of it. For years, he used cameras hidden in bathrooms and bedrooms of his residence to capture video footage of the minor victims.

The investigation began after Howard distributed over 168 suspected child pornography files to an undercover agent.

According to court documents, Howard was working in Kazakhstan when federal agents executed the search warrant at his Richland residence. So he stayed there until eventually arrested by Kazakhstan authorities. A Kazakh then judge ordered Howard be detained--pending an extradition request from the United States. According to the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, Howard’s removal from Kazakhstan is the first extradition from that country by the United States.